Industrial Hygiene Services
Certifications
Industrial Hygiene For Health and Safety at Work and Beyond
Industrial Hygiene is the science dedicated to protecting and enhancing the health and safety of people in their workplaces and communities. Industrial Hygienists focus on anticipating, recognizing, evaluating, and controlling environmental factors that may affect health and safety.
Criterion’s Industrial Hygienists are certified by the Board for Global EHS Credentialing (BGC), formerly the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH).
Our professionals are members of The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA).
Industrial Hygiene Assessment & Monitoring
Criterion Labs’ Industrial Hygienists implement comprehensive Workplace Exposure Assessment Programs which evaluate potential personal exposures to hazardous substances.
Our Environment, Health, and Safety (EH&S) team performs several types of sampling, depending on the nature of the chemical hazard, the frequency of chemical use, and handling practices.
Criterion’s Process
Our process involves reviewing historical worker exposure monitoring records, conducting facility walk-throughs to observe current work practices, and developing exposure monitoring strategies such as chemical air sampling or noise monitoring.
We also collaborate with clients to devise effective and practical exposure control strategies, including worker training.
Our findings are reported comprehensively and understandably, and we support our clients in resolving regulatory or litigation issues.
Comprehensive Industrial Hygiene & Safety Services
Criterion’s Certified Industrial Hygienists are committed to the well-being of individuals at work, home, and within the community. Our professionals assist with everything from recognition to evaluation and control.
Our Industrial Hygiene Services include:
- Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), Certified Safety Professional (CSP), and Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) Services: Expertise in health and safety protocols.
- Worker Exposure Monitoring: Assessment of chemical air contaminants, indoor air quality (IAQ), noise, heat, and radiation.
- Exposure Control Strategies: Development of measures to control worker exposure.
- Ventilation Evaluation: Assessment of ventilation systems for effectiveness in contaminant control.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Evaluation: Including respirators, with training and qualitative fit testing (QLFT).
- Industrial Hygiene Program Audits: Comprehensive reviews of existing hygiene programs.
- Hazardous Materials Management: Safe handling and disposal of hazardous substances.
- Regulatory Compliance: Guidance on OSHA, MSHA, EPA regulations.
- Workers’ Compensation Issues: Assistance with claims and compliance.
- Litigation Support – Expert Witness: Available to existing clients for expert testimony in legal matters.
Industrial Hygiene Exposure Monitoring
Typical Industrial Hygiene Exposure Monitoring Includes:
- Asbestos
- Formaldehyde
- Airborne dust (total, respirable, inhalable, thoracic, PM10, and PM2.5)
- Solvent-based materials
- Chemical carcinogens or extremely toxic substances
- Metals including lead, arsenic, mercury, beryllium, and chromium (Cr3, Cr6)
FAQ
What is Industrial Hygiene, and how does it protect businesses from OSHA violations?
Industrial Hygiene is the specialized science dedicated to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of environmental stressors in the workplace that can cause worker injury, illness, or severe discomfort.
Failing to properly monitor occupational hazards exposes businesses to costly OSHA citations, spikes in workers’ compensation claims, and potential litigation. Criterion Labs works proactively with facility managers to identify chemical, physical, and biological stressors, ensuring your operations remain strictly compliant with OSHA Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs).
What is a Workplace Exposure Assessment, and how does Criterion perform it?
A Workplace Exposure Assessment quantitatively measures what your employees are breathing, hearing, or absorbing during their daily routines. Criterion’s qualified field experts deploy a methodical on-site evaluation process:
- Facility Walk-Through & Task Audit: We review historical exposure monitoring data and visually inspect active work tasks to map out potential exposure points.
- Personal Air & Noise Monitoring: We equip employees with wearable personal sampling pumps, cyclones, passive dosimeters, or noise dosimeters to gather real-time data across full work shifts.
- Accredited Laboratory Analysis: Samples are analyzed inside our full-service laboratory, which is fully equipped to execute the entire NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods.
What specific workplace exposure hazards does Criterion Labs monitor?
Our industrial hygienists are equipped to monitor and evaluate an extensive array of occupational hazards, including:
- Airborne Particulates: Total, respirable, inhalable, and thoracic dusts, including crystalline silica, welding fumes, and oil mists.
- Chemical Vapors & Gases: Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), solvent vapors, formaldehyde, ethylene oxide, and waste anesthetic gases.
- Toxic Metals: Personal exposure limits for lead, hexavalent chromium (Cr6), arsenic, mercury, and beryllium.
- Physical Stressors: Occupational noise mapping, hearing conservation data, and heat stress assessments.
Why is it critical to hire a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) or Professional Engineer (PE)?
A Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) and a Professional Engineer (PE) represent the highest standard of professional expertise, peer-reviewed experience, and ethical practice in the environmental health field.
Many high-stakes industrial scenarios, complex remediation designs, corporate policy audits, and insurance validations strictly require the oversight and official signature of a CIH or PE. Utilizing Criterion’s credentialed leadership guarantees that your safety programs, sampling strategies, and engineering controls are legally defensible and scientifically sound.
Does Criterion Labs provide litigation support and expert witness testimony?
Yes. Environmental non-compliance or occupational illness claims can occasionally lead to complex legal disputes or workers’ compensation battles. Criterion Labs provides robust litigation support, forensic data reviews, and expert witness testimony exclusively for our clients. Because we operate our own ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited laboratory and command a team of multi-state licensed CIHs, CSPs (Certified Safety Professionals), and PEs, the data and insights we bring to a legal defense are entirely transparent, seamless, and unassailable under cross-examination.